Charges include ‘aggravating circumstances’ against suspect in Bellingham murder

Suspect in Bellingham stabbing death makes first court appearance

Jesse Reyes, a suspect in the stabbing death of Donald Alderson of Bellingham, makes his first court appearance Monday, Oct. 8, 2018 in Whatcom County Superior Court.

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Jesse Reyes, a suspect in the stabbing death of Donald Alderson of Bellingham, makes his first court appearance Monday, Oct. 8, 2018 in Whatcom County Superior Court.

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Charges were filed Tuesday in Whatcom County Superior Court against the man suspected of stabbing a 71-year-old Bellingham man to death and assaulting two others in Puget neighborhood during what police believe was a random crime spree Saturday morning.

The murder charge was filed with “aggravating circumstances,” as, Richey said in court documents, “Reyes’ conduct during the commission of the current offense manifested deliberate cruelty to the victim under RCW 9.94A.535(3)(a).”

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Reyes, who is being held on $1 million bail, is suspected of using a 3-inch folding knife to stab 71-year-old Bellingham resident Donald T. Alderson 37 times on Saturday. Alderson’s body was found on the trail behind the Haskell Business Center, just north of Meador Avenue, Richey said during Reyes’ first appearance Monday.

Minutes before the attack on Alderman, Richey said Reyes is suspected of assaulting a woman at the Lakeway Teriyaki restaurant in the Fred Meyer building, hitting her in the head and face without provocation before employees intervened and he left.

Richey said Reyes then assaulted a man behind Carl Cozier Elememtary School, hitting him in the face, knocking him to the ground and continuing to punch him. The victim in that assault had to be hospitalized and was kept overnight after he suffered a brain bleed.

Jesse Rene Reyes, center, appears on video Monday afternoon in Whatcom County Superior Court. He is facing charges in the stabbing death of a 71-year-old man and assaults on two other people Saturday morning in Bellingham’s Puget neighborhood. His bail was set at $1 million.

Jim Donaldson The Bellingham Herald

“Clearly, Mr. Reyes, by what happened here on Saturday, is a danger to the community,” Richey said Monday.

Richey said Reyes had “a significant amount of criminal history from Texas,” including convictions for domestic violence assault, burglary and illegal possession of firearms in multiple cases from 2015 to 2016.

Despite Reyes’ convictions in Texas, Lt. Claudia Murphy said in an email Monday to The Herald that Bellingham Police have “only had minimal contact with him here in 2018 and nothing before.”

“At this point, we have no further information as to what may have set him off on his rampage on Saturday,” Murphy said.

Police arrested Reyes Saturday morning after a short search in near the 1800 block of Texas Street and booked him into Whatcom County Jail.